COG: New, old and intent
We break down insights from a 7-month case study that tracks the performance of two studio albums, Sharing Space and The New Normal, in Discovery Mode.
As an emerging artist, Spotify dangles a lot of tools and prospective glory in front of you. Spotify’s Discovery Mode holds potential for getting your music in front of more listeners without needing a massive marketing budget Discovery Mode doesn’t require an upfront budget. Instead, Spotify applies a 30% charge to recording royalties generated from all streams of selected songs in Discovery Mode contexts - Spotify Radio and Autoplay.
This case study will reveal my Label Manager nerd approach to breaking down how, why, and when to use Discovery Mode to boost your streams, grow your audience and mitigate further losses to an already abysmal royalty rate.
Why Use Discovery Mode?
Discovery Mode juices the algorithms responsible for pushing music in front of new ears. According to a recent report on Discovery Mode’s performance between October 2023 and August 2024, using this tool can help artists avoid declining royalties and keep their catalogues active.
By placing certain songs in Discovery Mode, you can ensure they remain in front of potential listeners for an extended period, keeping your streams steady and avoiding stagnation. The key is to select songs that not only attract casual listeners but also prompt deeper engagement, like saves, playlist adds, and follows.
Key Benefits of Discovery Mode:
1. Engage New and Old Audiences: Discovery Mode lifts your music’s visibility and promotes engagement beyond just streams, capturing both new listeners and reigniting interest from existing fans.
2. Catalogue Reactivation: If you have older tracks that still resonate with listeners, Discovery Mode can give them a new life, making them discoverable again and boosting their streaming numbers.
3.Avoid Royalty Declines: By maintaining consistent streams on key songs, you can mitigate the risk of seeing a dip in your royalties.
How Discovery Mode Works
To get the most out of Discovery Mode, you need to carefully select which songs to feature. This case study highlights that the key to success lies in tracking both the lift in listeners and intent rate—the willingness of listeners to take an action, like saving your song or following your artist profile.
Success Case: Sharing Space vs. The New Normal
Two of Cog’s studio albums, Sharing Space and The New Normal, were analysed in Discovery Mode over a seven-month period. Interestingly, Sharing Space consistently outperformed The New Normal on most metrics, despite the latter having a slightly higher intent rate.
Here’s why Sharing Space excelled:
• Stream Growth: Over four months (December 2023 - March 2024), Sharing Space increased its streams by 13.4k, peaking at 32.1k streams in March 2024.
• Listener Engagement: This growth wasn’t just organic. Discovery Mode helped attract new listeners who were genuinely interested in Cog’s catalogue, demonstrated by an increase in album-specific streams and a growth in followers from 41.4k to 43.8k.
The takeaway here is that while intent is important, the overall number of ears your songs find via Discovery Mode plays a vital role in catalogue success. A balance between the two metrics—intent rate and stream lift—is the sweet spot for effective catalogue promotion.
When to Use Discovery Mode
Deciding when to activate Discovery Mode depends on your current release cycle and the performance of your existing catalogue.
Here are three scenarios when Discovery Mode can be especially effective:
1. Post-Release Surge: After releasing a new album or single, you can use Discovery Mode to capitalise on the initial buzz and continue driving streams beyond your core fanbase.
2. Off-Cycle Engagement: If you’re in between releases, like Cog was, you can use Discovery Mode to keep your existing catalogue active. Sharing Space is a perfect example—it ran 9-13 songs through Discovery Mode and sustained engagement even without a new release.
3. Reactivating Older Tracks: If you notice a drop in streams for some of your older songs that still perform well with your core audience, putting them in Discovery Mode can help them regain traction.
Recommendations for Emerging Artists
Based on the insights from Cog’s seven-month experience with Discovery Mode, here are some actionable tips:
1. Be Selective with Your Songs: Don’t put your entire catalogue in Discovery Mode. Focus on the songs that show a consistent lift in streams and engagement. Keep your top-performing tracks in Discovery Mode for at least four months to observe their performance.
2. Monitor Both Streams and Intent: Track not only how many streams your songs are getting but also how listeners are engaging with them. Are they adding your songs to playlists? Following your profile? Both metrics are important for long-term success.
3. Adapt Based on Results: If certain tracks aren’t performing well in Discovery Mode, consider removing them. As shown in Cog’s case, The New Normal didn’t perform as well as Sharing Space, and keeping non-performing tracks in Discovery Mode might waste valuable exposure opportunities.
Conclusion
Discovery Mode is a powerful tool that can help emerging artists increase streams, reach new audiences, and re-engage current fans. By strategically using it to promote the right songs at the right time, you can enhance your catalogue’s performance and keep your music fresh in listeners’ minds. KEEP IN MIND, Discovery Mode does rely on strong audience data, so you will need to make sure that you’re attracting the best kind of ears to begin with by engaging community and building relationships.
For the analytically-inclined (Hello fellow data nerdos!), take the time to analyse your catalogue’s performance regularly, and use these insights to make the most of Spotify’s Discovery Mode.